debates where romney has an opportunity to really challenge the president about that arab spring in particular, but foreign policy and security in general. lou: it is surprising in a presidential campaign how eager candidates usually are for a time on national television that they would not seize that opportunity. ed henry, white house chief correspondent. joining me now who serves as our, one of our national security analyst, robert maginnis. great to have you with us. fox news contributor, john bolton. great to see both of you. let me first turn to the idea that this president is saying that this is a natural reaction. i would like to first get your reaction to these comments. >> the natural protests is outraged over the video. it was used by extremists to see if they could directly harm u.s. interests. lou: your reaction to what he said. let me begin with you, bob. >> we have known that benghazi has been a hot bed of terrorism for a long time. 9/11 and there are plenty of notice is out there. the fact that we had an ambassador in benghazi without a significant security detail jus

will win ohio. >> hours away for that crucial first debate, candidates gain expectations. >> romney is a very good debater. he's practiced and practiced and practiced and practiced. >> the moderator and obama are going to come after him. >> the big questions, can romney reset his campaign with a strong debate? or was early voting under way -- >> president obama. >> is it too late for a turnaround? >> four years from his last debate. >> you're wrong. >> will be president obama be rusty? we'll ask our headliners. new jersey governor chris christie and the president's senior adviser david plouffe. and our powerhouse roundtable. squaring off, haley barbour and howard dean. plus, matthew dowd, donna brazile and maggie haberman of politico. >>> hello again. we're heading into the home stretch of this campaign. just 37 days before the final votes. with all eyes on this week's first debate. the candidacy are hunkering down in debate camp. where the race stands. what to expect wednesday? white house adviser david plouffe standing by for the president. but let's begin with the romney camp, new j

tries to downplay expectations and predictions from team romney as we preview wednesday's debate in denver. >> i just created a huge screw-up. >> sean: all that, plus my exclusive interview with former california governor and hollywood legend arnold schwarzenegger. we are 36 days from election day and "hannity" starts right here right now. >> sean: this is a fox news alert. congressional hearings on the banghazi attack are about to be convened in the last hour fox news has obtained a letter that will be sent to hillary clinton tomorrow morning. this letter is from congressman jason chavitz. it reads in part, the full committee anticipates convening a hearing on october 10th, 2012, to consider the security situation in banghazi leading up to the september 11th attack. the attack that claimed the ambassador's life was the latest in a long line of attacks on western diplomats and officials in libya in the months leading up to this attack. it was clearly never as the administration has once insisted, the result of a popular uprising or protest. what you're looking at now is exclusively

: governor mitt romney slamming the president on foreign policy in his weekly pod cast he blames the president for failing to take a more aggressive roll over cease. >>. >> -- aggressive roll over cease. >> that places our friends and allies at the mercy event dan those who do us harm. in a time of testing an american president must show strong leadership. dangerous world, we can't allow indifference to undermine security. only strength and clarity can keep the peace. when i'm president, i'll reverse president obama's defense cuts. i'll call terrorism what it is. i will never abdicate american leadership. and i will never apologize for america. >> rick: governor romney focusing on the turmoil in the mideast taking the president to task for apparently not showing enough american leadership. >> arthel: new protests in the muslim world, thousands taking to the streets of pakistan's largest city. rally against an anti-islam film led for a radical muslim scholar calling for international law mack making it illegal for anyone to denigrate any religious prophet in iran students descending o

last four years. >> harry reid is targeting mitt romney's mormon faith. that's fine. let's talk about the president's faith. >> no, no, no. not bless america, damn america. >> sean: all of that, and the president is not reading off the teleprompter. >> we don't have all the information yet. >> sean: and the ad the main street media don't want you to see. we're 40 days from election day. "hannity" starts right here right now. if you want a glimpse into what the future holds for america if president barack obama is handed a second term, take a hard long look at the chaos unfolding in the group in europe. violent riots are raging in the streets of spain and greece as angry mobs protest against the government and austerity measures there. in athens, more than 70,000 people descended on the greek parliament. molotov cocktails targeted police officers, and similar scenes of violence in madrid as well, but make no mistake if this president is in fact afforded another four years in office and has the ability to run up our national debt another $6 trillion, look right there, this is what

. it's all postponed to 2013. governor romney has said we're going to do things with the tax cold, cut everyone's taxes and get more money. not clear how that's going to happen. i hope in the coming debates the people who are the moderators, who are very smart and policy savvy won't let them just give an answer and -- you have to follow up and say, now wait a minute, that doesn't square. how are you going to do this? what is the expectation the public can have? i mean, this is most interesting. if you think about who is going to become president. they are going to have to do some really unpopular things. >> sean: very much so. >> to fix this. i mean, you look through the book, and it was john boehner the speaker who came to the president and said we need to do tax reform, entitlement reform. those are hard. they take a long time. >> sean: we need it. >> it's just got to be done. >> sean: i accept means testing. i don't like it, but i accept it. i accept they'll raise the eligibility age. these are basic things. mitt romney to his credit said that on "60 minutes" this weekend. here's a

for mitt romney and other republicans, but don't they are fired and the focus of a state investigation. >> there were a lot of signatures that appeared to possibly be common and there was a lot of missing information, and it just didn't appear to be real consistent. >> something was just wrong. >> yeah. >> cenk: so then it turned out, it's not just in palm beach county, it is in at least ten counties in florida. >> the workers there go through that and fine repeated problems in about 108 of them, including similar signatures, apparently phony signatures, and phony addresses as we just heard some linked up to a shell gas station, as of last night, we had six counties reporting irregularities in voter registration firms including -- according to a republican supervisor registering of dead people. >> cenk: dead people. dead people. and it turns out of course it is not just florida, it is in seven different swing states colorado, florida, nevada north carolina, virginia. they are doing it in all of these states and the republican national committee paid this company $3.1 mill

secret mt ro vithurd today. this one comes from his years running bain capital and mr. romney's language in the video, once againjust leaves you scratching your head. the same man who said corporions are peop who made al $10, bet with another candidate. the question is, just who is this guy? who wants to lead our nation. mother jones magazine obtained the video. it shows romney ba in 1985 ewedhe companies it was supposedly helping. >> bain capital is an investment partnership which was formed to invest in, startup companies and ongoing companies than to take an active hand in maning them and hopefully five toht yeto harvest them at a significant profit. >> harvest these companies for a profit. that was romney's goal in business. to harvest companies the way you harvest organs, the way you harvest crs. ave stalks behind.goo but we now know this is mitt romney's world view. the world view we only see behind closed doors when he thinks we're not stening. it's what we saw on that secret video where romney said, 47% of amansaw tels victims. today the obama campaign released a devasta

i'm just going to go. >>> this morning on "meet the press," the pressure is on as mitt romney stumbles. the president is widening his lead, six weeks before the election. where is the debate headed? >>> he said he can't change washington from the inside. he can only change it from outside. well we're going to give him that chance in november, he's going outside. >> but it's rom any who spent perhaps his worst week of the campaign. on the defensive. after the release of his 2011 tax return and now this now-infamous recording from a may fundraiser. >> the 24% are with him. the government has the responsibility to care for them. >> a debate this morning about the 47%. taxes and government dependence. with two top surrogates for the candidate. democratic governor of massachusetts, duvall patrick and republican senator from new hampshire, kelly ayok. and then our political roundtable on the romney campaign under fire from romney conservatives what is the turn-around plan. are romney's troubles overstated? and what to look for as the candidates prepare for the debate. with a senior

romney hopes to make noise in ohio to stir up support in a key state. meanwhile, president obama hopes to hear the sound of violence. what he says about the mideast turmoil besides bumps in the roads will be worth watching. education nation. nbc news is hosting leaders from across the country for a forum on the future of our schools. we'll talk to castro about what's working in his town. and 12 years into the war in afghanistan, find out what the top u.s. commander has to say about that country's future. good morning. this is "the daily rundown". i'm chuck todd. we're just outside the education nation summit at the new york public library where msnbc news is playing host to leaders from around the country. this hour we're going to hear from the keynote speaker. but first. let's get to my first read of the morning. mitt romney will campaign more aggressively in battleground states this week than we've seen in a while. beginning today in colorado and then crisscrossing ohio on crucial bus tour. while the president tries everything he can do to let the united nations meeting come and go w

doors in practice sparring sessions. romney has listed senator rob portman to prep him while obama is working with senator john kerry. latest polls covered with that 47% remark hurting romney. in the battleground state of pennsylvania today. >> -- make sure america leads in our homes, in our economy and in our military. i need something from you. that's my commitment to you. i need you to go out and find somebody who voted for barack obama and get him to vote for me. >> he's down but not out. can he turn it around with an october surprise? let's welcome stephanie cutter. it's going reasonably well for you guys. it's been a good couple weeks, really since the conventions. you've got a bit of momentum but i guess you're not taking this too complacently. >> no, absolutely not, piers. you know, debates can be a pivotal moment in campaigns. i remember eight years ago when john kerry was getting ready to debate george bush, we were eight points down. coming out of that first debate we were tied with george bush. so there is an opportunity for mitt romney if he takes advantage of it next wed

. speculating already who is going to have the best zingers. governor romney is a good debater. i'm just okay. >> bill: candidates warming up for the big showdown in denver wednesday night. brit hume and charles krauthammer will have some thoughts. >> our new abc "the washington post" poll shows him with that raiser thin lead among likely voters. >> break wide open when voters ask who do they expect to win. >> are the poll numbers rigged in favor of the president? bernie goldberg is analyzing that wait, you have this relationship, nine months later she has a baby didn't you say oh my god? >> bill: arnold schwarzenegger getting beat up by a small lady. >> i'm not perfect. >> adam carolla will analyze arnold on the grill. caution, you are about to enter the no spin zone. the factor begins right now. hi i'm bill o'reilly, thanks for washing us tonight. it's all about money. the upcoming vote all about cash and how we americans process it bomber wants to redistribute income and regulate from washington and set up a socially just economic system that guarantees outcomes. those who are ge

. mitt romney to score political points and what that argument might sound like on these issues? and is there any earthly chance that either of them would try to do something like that? >> the only case that has gotten onto the radar of the broader public would be health care. i think it would be a reference back. the supreme court, because the economy takes all the oxygen out of the election with a little bit of foreign affairs, the supreme court does not play among undecided voters could but it is a motivator for one space to get out and get to the polls because you want this person to replace justice ginsburg when she retires, for example. and health care is really the only thing that resonates. if there is any possible outcome is that the obama administration has declined to defend the defense of marriage act. and governor romney may well decide that he would defend the constitutionality of that statute could but it does not seem that that kind of social conservative question has a lot of salience in something like a presidential debate. so other than health care, i do not see mu

media on this? governor mitt romney spoke to a foreign-policy topic forum at valley college in california. it shows president obama leading in pennsylvania by more than a point. but that did not stop the governor from blasting the president for calling deadly turmoil around the muslim world, a bump in the road. >> i don't consider 20 or 30,000 people dying just a bump in the road. or a muslim brotherhood president in egypt a bump in the road. i don't consider the killing of our diplomats in libya as a bump in the road, and i sure as heck don't consider iran becoming nuclear, a bump in the road. we need someone who recognizes what is ahead and what is willing to be done as a leader. megyn: president obama continues his campaign again today. megyn: off to the critical swing state of virginia. new polls show the race tightening their grip president obama leading governor romney by two points. 46% to 44%. that is within the margin of error. here is the policy average of all polls in virginia. the president of about four points. now some politics watchers are suggesting all of this

notust mitt romney. the evidence is growing that republicans have a much bigr prlem onir han than any one candidate, even the candidate for the white house. instead, we're seeing a rejection the entire world view. your on your own philosophy that says, if you're downnour luck, en yre of ck. 'll be talking about it throughout the show tonight. but we start with a new poll out of ohio that is sending shockwaves across the republican party. the "new york times" poll shows the president now has teinlead in the buckeye state. ten points. ohioans are reacting against mitt romney's notorious cments about the 47%. the president drove that point home today. >> i don't believe we can get very far with leaders who write off half the nation as a bunch of victims who never take responsibility for their own lives. and i've got to tell you, as i travel around ohio and as i look out on this crowd, i don't see a lot of victims. i see hardworking ohioans. that's what i see. >> it's not just voters in ohio responding to that message. the presidt has a nine-point lead in florida. and a 12-point lead in n

magazine obtained the video. it shows romney back in 1985 describing ou bain capital viewed the companies it was supposedly helping. >> bain capital is an investment partnership which was formed to invest in, startup companies and ongoing companies than to take an active hand in managing them and hopefully five to eight years to harvest them at a significant profit. >> harvest these companies for a profit. that was romney's goal in business. to harvest companies the way you harvest organs, the way you harvest crops. take out everything good and leave the stalks behind. but we now know this is mitt romney's world view. the world view we only see behind closed doors when he thinks we're not listening. it's what we saw on that secret video where romney said, 47% of americans saw themselves as victims. today the obama campaign released a devastating new ad that simply let's romney speak for himself while showing the faces of the 47%. >> there are 47% of the people that will vote for the president no matter what, who believe that they are victims, who believe that government has a responsibili

vision. mitt romney, the republican nominee was lay out his vision, they could not be more different in terms of what their vision is, in terms how to deal with this. the president made clear not just iran but to broaden it out with what happened in libya, he made clear, i can't dictate what is happening on the ground. >>neil: why appear on "the view" to make it look worse that you are detached. >>reporter: he is trying to project an image of, what, me worry? i'm calm and cool. >>neil: four years ago any presidential election, george bush in his election effort in 2004, we were knee-deep in iraq and the war was raging, he was meeting with foreign dick -- dignitaries left and right. >>guest: he was trying to project a united front around the world. i will figure this out. i'm tough on national security. >>neil: but last year, president obama was meeting with a host of people. the year before, a healthy host of people. >>guest: they are not saying it is driven by politics. we are a few weeks from re-election. he is trying to show an image of confidence. in addition to "the view," a camera

romney was leading in may. now the latest poll shows president obama up with 50%. some other tidbits about this poll. it says -- obama leads from the on the issues of handling the economy, foreign policy, taxes, medicare, and standing up for the middle class. but romney leaves on better handling of the federal budget and spending. 38% of voters surveyed said the presidential debates are not an important factor in their vote and 84% said that they would not consider voting for another candidate. your top issues. we want to hear from romney and obama supporters and undecided voters. scott is up first in texas. caller: i believe romney will win with a landslide. the economy, gas prices, for and policy, the debt. the obama administration has been a total failure. i don't know what else we should have expected from the least qualified individual to ever hold office. host: what qualifies mitt romney for the presidency? caller: his entire life. he is one of the most compassionate, caring individuals. he is not the narcissist in chief. he is a great individual. host: what do you do? caller:

three days before the first presidential debate. >> most believe it will be a crucial night for romney. >> president obama and arrived today in nevada for three bang days of what campaign -- three days of what campaign aides are calling debate camp. >> i believe in you. i ask you to keep on believing in me. >> the president and romney will hunker down over the next few days as they huddled with senior advisers to prepare for the showdown in denver. in recent days, campaigns have been bending over backward to complement their opponents and downplay expectations. new jersey governor chris christie said a high bar for romney. >> this is the first moment when the american people can see these two guys by side, letting out their visions unfiltered. i think that will be a powerful moment for mitt romney. >> obama senior advisers said they are preparing. >> they have been practicing for months. i am sure they will have a lot of clever lines, but that is not the american people are looking for. >> abc news political analyst matt dowd says advisors are emphasizing style over substance. >> debat

-point lead in the buckeye state. ten points. ohioans are reacting against mitt romney's notorious comments about the 47%. the president drove that point home today. >> i don't believe we can get very far with leaders who write off half the nation as a bunch of victims who never take responsibility for their own lives. and i've got to tell you, as i travel around ohio and as i look out on this crowd, i don't see a lot of victims. i see hardworking ohioans. that's what i see. >> it's not just voters in ohio responding to that message. the president has a nine-point lead in florida. and a 12-point lead in pennsylvania. look, there's no mystery about what happened. the secret tape of romney was a game changer. there's no running away from what he said. there's no spin cycle that can clean up his comment. 47% who believe they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you name it, it's an entitlement and the government should give it to them and they will vote for this president no matter what. >> a new poll finds 54% of all voters have an unfavorable view of romney's comment

and political fans, too. >> on the campaignrail today a field screams. pren o a mitt romney both fighting to be heard today. >> i'm s.e. cupp. fo years ago it was about the financial crisis. >> i'm toure, andneli esme y l hav a frank talk about vulnerability. i feel scared already. >> all that plus talk about putting yourself out there. i' show you the precise moment when mitt romney lost the presidential camcampaign, and i not what youk. re in "the cycle" for thursday, september 27th. >> for all you political and baseball fans out there who knkow the game is played eve ur h on "the cycle," i have news for you. it's raining. so we're in a delay until next thursday. the incumbent is leading into october in the debates. they're both in battleground virginia, my home state today. we'll have more later. r presidential football.'s te >> personal foul, number 93, red. >> the officls lost control of the philadelphia/baltimore game among others. >> yes, unless you areurie r ouwhefl has kicked the replacement refs to the curb. >> the packers playing at the goal line. as wilson scrambles t

romney as he tries to steady his campaign. joining us for a debate of their own, democratic governor of massachusetts, devalue patrick and kelly welcome to both of you. >> thanks, david. >> a lot to get to. let's start with the issue of taxes. mitt romney's tax returns showing in 2011 he paid 14%. he didn't have a job. this was interest income. governor, should this end the debate or should there be more? >> i understand people's interest and curiosity about the tax returns. his dad said tax returns for presidential candidate should be produced way back many years and i think it produced 20 years worth of tax returns when he was considered vice president. the more important issue is what is it he plans to do with my taxes and yours and everybody els. he has a tax plan where he's talking $5 trillion in tax cut, adding to the deficit, no way to pay for it and no idea about what the impact is. >> the question of more returns and what they are holding, you don't think it's appropriate -- >> i think it's a fair question. the bigger question is what is it he plans to do with every

." (laughter and applause) sad. sad. sad. (applause) folks, mitt romney has been dogged all week by his handling of the libya crisis. but yesterday the romney people shifted gears to change the game. >> there is a push by the romney campaign to refocus, to somehow reset. they want to really change the focus. >> stephen: well, i'm happy to say that by last night no one was focused on libya anymore. (applause) >> mitt romney is in damage control after a magazine revealed a secret video showing him making some controversial comments about americans. >> it's now raising tough new questions for his presidential campaign. >> this tape has shaken the romney campaign to say the least. >> stephen: shaken to say the least. vomiting blood to say the most. (laughter) but still no libya. (applause) okay, that's a victory. now, folks, here's what happened. way back in may mitt spoke at a $50,000 a plate fund-raiser at the boca raton home of private equity management marc leder who is best known for throwing some wild parties including one in the hamptons last summer where guests cavorted nude in a po

to stand on our own two feet is exactly what governor romney is conveying. >> do you think president obama has not said to a group of donors, look, there are certain segments in the electorate that are not going to vote for me? why not see it as political analysis? >> i don't think that's what the president said or ever said. what he's done is govern for all of the people. the president has, you know, he's advanced policy that is are not popular with his base. he did them because he thought they were important for the future of this country. it's the leadership we need. >> let's talk about the issues, the 47% get to. the question of government dependence as you referenced, here are snapshots nationally that raised eyebrows and governor romney talked about. you talk about food stamps. 47 million americans on food stamps up from four years ago. here is a broader picture from the wall street journal over time, if you go back to the early '80s and look at the trajectory, 49% receiving some kind of government benefit. is government dependent at a place where it's out of control?

former governor mitt romney are in final preparations for tomorrow night's debate at the university of denver, the first time the candidates will square off in the race for the white house. c-span will air the debate live tomorrow night. we would like to hear what your plans are for tomorrow night's debate. why would you be watching or by night? here are the numbers to call -- -- why will you be watching or why not? you can also join the conversation on social media. send us a tweet or join the conversation on facebook. you can also e-mail us. the "washington times looks at presidential debates, who watches and what they gain for it -- from it. we would like to hear from you this morning, your take on watching presidential debates and this one in particular happening tomorrow. here is the headline from the denver post -- the school is getting ready for the national spotlight as it will host the candidates tomorrow night. let's hear from tyson in los angeles on our republican line. good morning. caller: happy birthday to you, libby. host: are you watching the debate? caller: absolutely.

: tonight, new trouble for the romney campaign, get ready for the rafalka sex tape. (laughter) and a major legal victory for apple. but it will be replaced with a faster, slimmer legal victory in six months. (laughter) then, my guest, jeffrey toobin is here to talk about obama's relationship with the supreme court. i hear it's under the robe; over the gavel. (laughter) wal-mart is turning 50 years old. it's finally old enough to be a greeter at itself. (laughter) this is "the colbert report." captioning sponsored by comedy central ( theme song playing ) ( cheers and applause ) . >> stephen: whoo! whoo! whoo! come on! (audience chanting "stephen") folks-- (audience chanting "stephen"). (cheers and applause) folks, folks, i've got to tell you, no matter-- sometimes i think the world is a dark cave, but you are always my light at the end of the tunnel. (laughter) welcome to th to the "report," everybody. thank you for joining us. nation, i have always hated change. that's why i'm solidly against transformers, shrinky-dinks and air caterpillars. (laughter) and don't tell me you've always felt